Kreun supports Pensions bill that offers lifeline to teachers and law enforcement

Today the Senate passed a bipartisan Pensions package that addresses various needs cited by teachers and law enforcement. The bill spends $80 million in FY26-27 and an additional $80 million in FY28-29. With this funding, the bill increases benefits for law enforcement officers and creates a working group to determine future additional changes.

The big highlights of the bill include the following:

  • Cost of living adjustments (COLA) to the State Patrol Plan
  • One-time COLA increases of 3% for Public Employees Retirement Association- Police and Fire Plan
  • Reducing the penalty for 60 and 61-year-old Tier II teachers who retire early
  • Changes to Duty Disability, including an elimination of the requirement that police departments continue health coverage for those on duty disability until 65 years old

“When it comes to teacher pensions, the legislature has been kicking the can down the road for far too long and we needed to update and improve our teacher’s pension system,” said Senator Michael Kreun (R-Blaine). “Since I’ve come to the legislature, I’ve heard from the teachers in my district and have been trying to find bipartisan solutions to help our teachers. This bill supports teacher recruitment and retention for those tasked with guiding students, and it will improve our kids’ education. This bill offers an improvement, but I do think we could have done much more when we had an $18 billion surplus – this should’ve been a top priority in 2023. Despite that fact, this bill is a good step in the right direction.” 

Missing from this bill is early retirement changes from Probation Officers. In lieu of an immediate change, this bill establishes a working group to formulate a workable solution to address their concerns.

Republicans offered multiple amendments to put the bill in a better state. All were defeated on party-line votes: